Using Annotated Satellite Images to Justify War

A recent article in the Jerusalem Times is once again showing the world how desperate Israel is to get rid of Iran, a desperation that is very similar to America’s desperation to get rid of Saddam Hussein back in the early 2000s. Let’s take a look at the recent news item followed by an analysis.

Here is a screen capture showing the headline of the article written by Anna Ahronheim on August 31, 2018:

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“New satellite images of an area in northwestern Syria show the establishment a new Iranian surface-to-surface missile (SSM) factory which may house weapons capable of striking Israel.

The images taken by ImageSat International (ISI) purport to show evidence suggesting that Iran is continuing to build various facilities related to the development and production of surface-to-surface missiles (SSM) in the area of Wadi Jahannam near Baniyas.” (my bold)

You’ll note that in the first two sentences, the author uses the conditional words “may” and “purport”.

Let’s continue:

“According to ImageSat, some of the structures at the site which is involved in the manufacturing and assembly facility of different SSM types have similar visual characteristics as structures built at SSM facilities in Parchin and Khojir in Iran.

“Therefore, it is probable that the same elements are responsible for their planning and construction,” ImageSat wrote in their analysis, adding that the facility is in its final stages of construction and will likely be completed by early 2019.

While ImageSat assessed that Iran is assisting Syria’s SSM capabilities for the Syrian civil war, “since those conflicts are currently smaller and less widespread than before, it is possible that the Iranian efforts are for future use by Hezbollah or Iran itself against Israel as well,” they wrote. (my bold)

Again, note the use of “similar”, “probable” and possible” and the “fact” that these facilities could be used to attack Israel directly.

And, in order to drag Russia into the fray, here’s what ImageSat had to say:

“According to ImageSat, both the facility in Masyaf and the one in Wadi Jahannam are located within the operational range of a Russian S-400 deployment, showing that Iran is “utilizing or exploiting the defense abilities of Russia.“.”

These slides are taken from Colin Powell’s address to the United Nations on February 5, 2003 where he provides the UN with infallible proof that Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction which justified “serious consequences for its continued defiance of this council”. Here’s one of Colin Powell’s key lines:

“Saddam Hussein’s intentions have never changed. He is not developing the missiles for self-defense. These are missiles that Iraq wants in order to project power, to threaten, and to deliver chemical, biological and, if we let him, nuclear warheads.”

And, as we all know, despite Washington’s best efforts, Iraq had no program to expand its inventory of weapons of mass destruction, no matter what the annotated satellite photos “purported” to show.

Let’s close with this video showing Rudy Giuliani in action when speaking to the MEK Iranian exile group:

You have to love the line “You know they’re nervous, you know they’re frightened. Bullies are always frightened when someone stands up to them and you’ve stood up to them.” when referring to Iran’s leadership. The irony of who is really the bully seems totally lost on Mr. Giuliani and, presumably, on Benjamin Netanyahu as well.

For more than a decade, Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu have gone to extreme levels to convince Washington that war or at the very least, regime change, is necessary to ensure that Israel is safe from the “Persian hordes” and, if Trump followers like Giuliani are to be believed, it’s just a matter of time until hostilities break out. As we’ve all learned from past efforts to convince Main Street America that war is necessary, all you have to do is annotate a few satellite images to convince people of Washington’s version of “the truth”.